Honorific verbs: lifting the other person
Staff, receptionists and teachers use special verbs for what you do. いらっしゃる, and おっしゃる sound nothing like , and , so they're worth learning by ear. Use them only about other people, never about yourself. Tap to hear any line. The bar at the bottom plays a hands-free drill for walking.
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23 honorific forms
Each card shows the everyday verb, its honorific form and a line you'd hear from staff, a teacher or a neighbour. Eleven reuse verbs and forms from earlier courses.
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How honorific verbs work
The most common verbs have their own honorific word. Almost any other verb works with お + the stem (the part before ます) + になる.
| Plain | Honorific | Example |
|---|
- Never about yourself. Say , not いらっしゃいます. Honorific verbs are for the person you're lifting.
- The ます-form has an い. いらっしゃる → いらっしゃいます, なさる → なさいます, くださる → くださいます, おっしゃる → おっしゃいます.
- お〜ですか is a staff favourite. (do you have), (are you looking for), (have you decided).
- られる looks like "can". can mean "are you coming?" or "can you come?". The situation tells you which.
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Four patterns to use today
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Say it in Japanese
Say each one out loud before you reveal the answer. Getting close counts.